Volkswagen e-Golf Priced $35,445 – Available Only Fully Loaded

Volkswagen announced pricing on the e-Golf for the United States today, and has decided that only the fully loaded SEL Premium model will be sold in America.

2015 VW e-Golf Seating

From $35,445 – or $27,945 if your are the type of person who like to factor in the $7,500 federal credit, then VW adds $820 in destination and delivery fees for a net amount of $36,265.

Given that the Nissan LEAF is the benchmark when it comes to smaller ranged EVs, and the e-Golf has a LEAF-like 24.2 kWh battery, the comparison to high trim level Nissan (SL) from $35,120 has to be made. On that basis, the car is not unreasonable at all – however, we still find it disappointing there isn’t a more entry-level price variant offered.

Still, this means things like high speed CCS charging (80% fill in 30 mins) comes as part of the standard package, as well as 7.2 kW L2 abilities.

As for range, VW notes that it has yet to be EPA rated, but to expect 70 to 90 miles per charge – so again, not terribly helpful. The all-electric Golf goes on sale in November in selected regions.

“Built on the Golf’s sporty Modular Transverse Matrix (MQB) platform, and powered by a compact electric motor and lithium-ion battery (built in-house at Volkswagen’s Braunschweig facility), the e-Golf follows the Golf’s “fun-to-drive, yet practical” formula, with all of the benefits of an electric vehicle.”

The states with highest per capita sales, accounting for over 55% of PEV sales are: California, Georgia, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington.

High per capita PEV sales regions not needing CARB ZEV compliance mandates are:
Georgia, Hawaii, Washington.
All markets proven to be very PEV friendly if auto manufactures are willing to share their models.

I’ve had my 2011 Nissan Leaf for 40 months and nearly 40,000 miles, and I have never been stranded. I use my wife’s gas-car once or twice a year. That’s plenty of range for almost everybody. Oh BTW, I LOVE my Nissan LEAF, and I’ll keep it 16 more years.

After 78 responses to the original post, I believe every one of us is ecstatic that more and more EV’s are being produced, regardless of brand and type. Refinements of those EV’s are sure to come and since everybody has different tastes, there probably will be an EV that will fit most people’s uses. Everybody wins big time with the proliferation of EV’s.

Am I wrong or just can’t car manufacturers understand that we consumers want an EV with RANGE!? Can they please stop producing large golf carts and calling them cars! That’s why Tesla, whether you like them/Musk or not, should be the benchmark in EV’s when it comes to range. Maybe automakers will wake up when the $35,000 (hopefully) Tesla Model 3 comes out. Am I alone here?

Not totally alone. But those of us who want a small EV realize that with today’s battery technology, fitting the necessary large battery pack in a small EV isn’t easy and turns a relatively light, nimble EV into a heavy car. The range of current small EV’s is sufficient for most of us who have them. I wouldn’t want to pay the price for range that I would rarely use.

Sorry. Please…The Volt is NOT a pure EV! No extended range car is an EV. The definition of an EV never should have had anything to do with what drives the wheels (electric motor) but what provides the source of that electricity used to drive the motors! If you have to fill a gas tank, then you are not driving an EV. (Just an opinion and we all have one.)

You probably don’t care to understand the differences, as it sounds like anything less the P85 range or more than $35k is something you want to complain about. But if you’re interested in knowing more, with the Volt, unlike the PIP, your EV miles will be pure EV miles not a mixed mode. The C-Max Enegi has an EV-only mode that changed the 0-60 result from 7.8 to 14.8 seconds (according to Edmunds). The Volt also has the range to more than cover the average round trip commute distance in the U.S. These are important distinctions that should be of interest if the e-Golf’s range does not cover your needs but you are honestly interested in replacing ICE miles with EV miles.

I could be a purist and complain about everything that is over $35k or doesn’t have the range of a regular ICE, but instead I found a solution in my budget that eliminated over 90% of the gas I use to use. Even a Model S with an 85k battery car would not have covered my trips this last few years, so even if I had one of those, I would have still needed to drive something else with an ICE. So, I wouldn’t have been 100% EV even with that $80k car.

George – in your original comment you stated “It is not like the Ford or the piP which are just hybrids with small electric motors and don’t have the capability to operate in pure EV mode.” And that is just flat-out wrong. Yes, Energi/PiP are more limited in pure EV mode, but they absolutely do have the capability.

I think the difference between the Energi (CMax or Fusion) and the Volt is often exaggerated by the Volt drivers, and underestimated by the Energi drivers among us. The difference is that of pure EV performance and range. But with the right driving patterns, it is possible for the Energi to burn less fuel than the Volt. If your goal is to reduce fuel consumption, then let’s focus on the right solution for the individual’s needs. Some of us rarely (if ever) drive over 70mph to begin with, so frankly, who cares?

On level ground? In many states out west, 80-85 mph is normal cruising speed. In other words, you’ll be using gas during normal operation.

The Volt has been out since 2010 and Audi still hasn’t come up with anything in the U.S. market to compete with the Volt. By the time they do, we’ll probably be comparing it to the 2nd gen vehicles from GM and Nissan. Not long after that, Tesla’s 3rd gen.

EVs will never be one-size-fits-all. Matching the specs and range vs price will direct a buyer to the right EV. I’m retired and live in the middle of a large urban area. I don’t have to drive far for anything. I bought a Volt in November 2013 and haven’t used any gas yet. However, I have family members who live outside the range of a Leaf and wanted to be able to jump in my car any time and not worry about the charge level or range. So for me, the Volt was a perfect fit. The fact that I have more fun driving it than any other car I’ve ever owned is a bonus.

No five seats get it of radar for many families and GM has decided not to sell it in Eurpe anymore. To bad since apparently the new one is going to have five seats at last as well as a 50 + miles ev range, way better then a Pip limited to 11 miles. Some other cars are coming but appart from the 4 seat i3, the other ones planned have a lower ev range then even the present four seat volt.

The problem with the volt (and almost all PHEV’s) is they use a gasoline engine. If they had diesel range extenders I would be in the market for one for sure. Having used recycled biodiesel for years, using a gas PHEV, as much as I would like to get off of liquid fuels altogether, would be like 2 steps forward, 2 steps backwards.

Game plan for the VW group, including Audi, on electrification.
Note the plans to ramp up the battery capacity and range on the E-Golf on page 18, where the 36Ah battery pack in this chemistry should give around a 50% range increase over this one, which uses 25Ah.
So the range should go up from something like 80-90 miles on the EPA to 120-130 miles.
Beyond that they are working on different chemistries for far higher ranges likely to be introduced in some of the top Audi’s first.

Yet why can’t more manufacturers get over the “EV Version of a popular model” tactic and just make a proprietary EV and/or PHEV body style like Prius? It’s proven people will buy something that looks like it’s purpose is different than a traditional model’s.

Give this Golf a more interesting shape – a sloped hatch would give 1-3 more MPG, and give it some character. While a nice car, and one I wouldn’t mind owning, it scores zero in the “cool looking car” category.

Form following function can also look sporty.
Toyota showed this equals sales success too!

I think auto manufactures already recognize that those who demand 200+ miles or range are not ready to buy an EV anyway. They would just complain about something else, like the significantly increased price needed to get that 200+ miles of range. If the only problem they had was range, they would have already ordered a Tesla.

My Spark EV is better than the Spark ICE in almost every way. Long trips being the notable exception and no, I would not pay an extra $20,000 for double or triple the range. That would take it from meeting 95% of my needs to meeting 96%. That 1% is not worth the cost nor the loss in efficiency from caring around the extra weight of a huge battery.

Those who call them glorified golf cars, clearly have not compared them to their ICE counterparts. Then again, maybe you make that comparison because you find golf carts to be more faster, handle better, smoother, quieter, and just a lot more fun to drive; in which case, I would agree with you.

Yes an heat pump is a way better heating mode then a resistor, one would even question why this isn’t standard on electric cars especially considering that an heat pum is simply an airco in reverse.

In the same trend I also wonder why they don’t consider more the use of a thermoacoustic heat pump and airo since it could then also be used as a thermocoustic generator which would be a convenient range extender.
Thermoacoustic systems have been arround for a while now but somehow they seem not to have appeared on the car manufacturers radar yet, although they should look at it since it is such a versatile system with almost no moving parts.

If the range is comparable to the Leaf, there goes all the premium leaf sales. Having ridden in a Versa(leaf platform) and owned a MKV Golf/Jetta TDi, I can’t imagine paying the same money for a leaf when the NVH is so much worse.

Comparing a LEAF to a Versa is a complete disservice to the LEAF. They feel like completely different vehicles. I had made that same mistake after having a rental Versa for a few days which I really did not like, and assumed the LEAF would be similar. Once I drove an actual LEAF, the difference was night and day. Go test try a Versa and LEAF back to back, you will then understand they are not the same.

I have no desire to have a ICE powered Spark, but I love my Spark EV. The EV is smooth, silent, powerful, has no rattles, lower center of gravity, drives completely different, feel completely different, etc.

Congrats to VW on bringing the e-Golf to reality, although the specs would make you believe its late 2010 all over again.

They had better engineer the platform to accept an increase in the battery size overtime as LEAF 2.0 launches within 18 months, or we’ll really see some fun when the automotive mags start making comparisons. In fact why wait, let’s have’em now!

This is a better adaptation of an existing platform than the Focus EV I drive. I see the truck and no space lost to the battery. I see a heated windshield and DC charging. All the things that make it much more versatile than the Focus BEV for the same money ~$36K. If I could have waited the 9 months between purchases, I would have gone with the golf. More legroom too than the focus. H

Yeah, the multi-drivetrain system VW has come up with is pretty interesting. I think you will be able to buy a Golf with 5(!) different drivetrains: conventional gasoline, hybrid, plug-in hybrid, pure electric (this eGolf), and a diesel. Nice.

Yes but they lack the i3 range extender system which just happen to be one of the most interesting. They had the Audi A1 e-tron though but they somehow decided not to sell it even though it would have been equipped with one of the most compact range extender ever presented.

It would be nice if they at least provide bigger batteries as an OPTION. Keep the small battery base model around and perhaps that will be the big seller . . . but an option for a version with a larger battery at few thousand dollars more would be very nice to have. I think there are people willing to go electric if they can just get a little more range but not cost as much as a Tesla.

Yes and no because you could have a good range ev with a rex at alower price if you decice a cost efficient production in lower cost places like what Renault is doing with its Dacia suv. You can get that thing for less then 10000 $ because they make them in Roumania or other places with lower wages. They also avoid unnecesary luxuries like leather seats and tropical woods and such stufs or exagerated i wares.
Coda was going in that direction but they did it pure ev and then lacked in range while they didn’t put a rex in the same time. The same mistake was done with the Renault Fluence. A no frills pure electric but with no rex.
I think an 100 miles ev range car with a rex could be made for 30000$, perhaps even less. In a way the volt is going in that direction since they decided to go triple five but they still have a gearbox and a clutch in it which complicate it and increase the price. By the way they stil have dead animals skins in there as well.

I’m glad to see they are willing to price this to have a chance of selling. If I was in the market for a top-end Leaf, I would almost definitely get the e-Golf instead. It just looks so much better to me, inside and out (yes, I like the analog gauges). Plus the 7.2 kW charger, while hardly game changing, will make a noticeable difference when you are waiting for the car to charge. Overnight, it doesn’t matter in the least, of course. Around here, CCS is as good as CHAdeMO. In other words, all it does is add a useless feature to my car. About as useful as heated seats in Arizona

I am going to go out on a limb and guess that their profit margin will not be very high. They likely won’t push these cars too high. Given that they are only offering the highest trim level, and not trying to compete with the mid- or entry-level Leaf (the car to beat in this class of EV) implies to me that they just can’t make the costs work out. Of course, I could be wrong and it could just be them wanting to milk the premium buyers first, while production is limited. If that’s the case, expect to see the lower trim e-Golf in a year or two.

I hope you’re right. EVERYBODY selling EVs should be looking at offering multiple battery options. With any luck, the second wave will do just that. Rumors are that the next gen Leaf and Volt will both offer longer range options for more money.

It is a very nice looking roadmap, but it is missing a very important detail – dates when one might expect to see the larger packs in cars.

I have been following this market for 8 years now, and they have been filled with promises. Some have come to fruition, others have not. I love reading about where automakers think they are going, but I frankly don’t believe it will happen until it’s in the show room. Not that I don’t necessarily believe their intent, mind you. I just don’t take anything as a given. So when you say “will have around 50% more range” I would say “could have around 50% more range”.

A lot of people were claiming that the VW group would not do electric cars, not unreasonably if one considered only their all over the place press releases and shilly-shallying.
What never wavered was the commitment of massive amounts of money into 5 multi-drive compatible platforms.
The engineering department was focussed if their PR wasn’t

For exactly the same reasons it is clear that VW and their battery partners Panasonic and LG Chem will introduce more powerful batteries at a good cost, and the 50% increase is merely more powerful versions of the pack currently going into production cars, not new technology as the still higher energy density ones in the planning stage are.

So there are Panasonic and LG, as well as the VW group’s own $22.5 bn investment budget per year to think that they are going to make this happen.

Yes, a lot of people said that VW would never make an electric. I have always said that I will believe it when I see it. And now I see it happening – I saw an eGolf with my own eyes here in NYS. I know they are coming, and look forward to test driving one this November.

I’m glad you’re so confident about the larger batteries. But confidence of “guys on blogs” is not what convinces me As for investment, yes money speaks of commitment and intent. But there are plenty of counter-examples where large investments were made on products that never made it to fruition.

On a more technical note – wondering out loud here – do you think that they can fit more than the 24.2kWh of the current battery tech in the MQB platform? If you are saying that the 36kWh battery would be using current technology, where will they fit the extra 12kWh? From the pictures it looks like the space is pretty much full as it is.

My track record is pretty good, actually Brian.
That is because I am a natural pessimist and so don’t go beyond what is pretty well established.

For instance the pack in the VW’s.

If you check back to the link I gave and look on page 18 you will see that the increased capacity is due to upping the pack to 36Ah.

IOW it will remain exactly the same physical size and will fit in to the present space perfectly.

The car will have been designed with as much of an eye on that pack which is not quite cost effective to put in yet as it was for the current one.

In the same way the Toyota PIP battery pack space will have been designed to take the next generation pack, to give them 50km AER as that is the minimum to comply with coming Chinese and European targets for zero pollution city car permits.

So my daring predictions are pretty much confined to almost ready technology!

‘Arr, mark my words well! There be cold weather a-comin’!
Is usually pretty safe to say in the UK around September, and that is the level of prediction I go for!

“If you check back to the link I gave and look on page 18 you will see that the increased capacity is due to upping the pack to 36Ah.

IOW it will remain exactly the same physical size and will fit in to the present space perfectly.”

So how do they do this with the same technology as the original 24Ah pack? So they magically increase it to 36Ah with the same volume as the original? Even if they up the weight by 50%, that kind of increase still sounds much more like a generational improvement to me.

I see nothing in these slides that claims either way, but the graph on slide 16 followed immediately by the plot on slide 17 suggests they are planning on battery improvements, not just putting in more of the same batteries.

Its exactly the same as for the little 18650 batteries, which sometimes changed chemistries, and got more kick, but other times kept the same basic chemistry but upped the voltage, and so got more kick out of the same size and weight.

They know pretty well what is towards the top of the range for a particular chemistry, as they know the theoretical limits and how close they are to them.

That is why on the VW roadmap (pg 16) they show that they need completely different chemistry to push on past that.

DaveMart,
Based on the wording in that document, it looks like VW is “planning” to have that capacity battery sometime in the future, not right now, which is why they used the word “outlook”. That doesn’t mean they have it now. If they had that right now, they should have used the 36Ah batteries instead of whatever they did use.

This is deeply disappointing. I was hoping for the e-Golf to be a real competitor for the Leaf S, but it has too many features that I don’t really care about and a price much higher than a Leaf S (especially on the VPP program).

I keep telling my wife that I’m watching e-Golf and Soul EV developments, in case one of those might be a better choice for us than a second Leaf when our lease is up in March. And she keeps (virtually) patting me on the head and saying, “OK, you do that, and when the time comes we’re getting another Leaf.”

So now I wait for the Soul EV details to emerge from the fog of marketing…

EVs need to get rid of those massive fake transmission sticks. They are a pointless waste of space which could better be used for cupholders or phone holders. You can replace the transmission sticks with a small knob, buttons (like the Fiat 500e), or something on the steering column.

It took quite many years, but it seems that Nissan LEAF got finally its first direct competitor on global markets. I hope that VW is more ambitious on improving the range of eGolf than Nissan with LEAF that is locked on five year old battery tech that is not even very cheap or durable compared to e.g. much higher energy density Tesla batteries.

Nissan had to change from LMO chemistry to NMC to get the higher density.
Changing battery chemistries is never easy, and high voltage NMC is proving difficult to do, although Kia have managed to get it up to 200Wh/kg at the cell level in the Kia.

VW have a relatively straight run using the same chemistry as in the current E-Golf up to 220Wh/kg from the present 170wh/kg, so hopefully it should be relatively straightforward.

That would give the E-Golf around 120-130 miles on the EPA.
Going beyond that would need a new chemistry, which as I have said is tougher to do and can hit snags.

The vast majority of the continental us has exactly zero of either within the range of these cars. Tesla, on the other hand, will cover 95% of that area within 18 months. I think it is clear which network is winning at the moment.

I really wish we knew what happened behind closed doors when certain automakers were talking to Tesla…

I like VW’s interior. It’s not super modern, but I like a conservative look that has a balance of taste while not going overboard on fake wood, etc. To me, the Cruze v.2 and Hyundais look plasticky and cheap. While I like their swoopy lines, they don’t seem to have any advantage ergonomics-wise.

The present Cruze takes some awful liberties as to interior color choice and materials. To be different, GM chose some goofy dash materials and off-putting colors IMHO.

I like the European’s take on dual color door panels and dash. The slate gray plastic wonderlands lots of automakers choose is so old as is the fake brushed metal plastic. When GM does faux chrome on switches and dash, it looks like fake chrome plastic. When the Euros do fake chrome plastic on switches and trim, it looks quality. That said, it is very conservative and traditional which is a plus for some and a strike to others.

Hopefully Volt v.2 finds a balance between this interior and going the super swooshy route like Hyundai.

Unless sales go national within the year, VW can not possibly compete with the Leaf or the Volt. EV’s that come out in “compliance car” states are not much more than car show teasers for rest of us, so sales will never take off. Ex: If every Kia dealership in America had a Soul EV on it’s lot right now- it would be sold! Every state! But- that’s not profitable enough. How about compromising? Just a little? Across the nation? Not just East and West coast?

Europe doesn’t have the Mennekes 400 volt charging option for the Golf? If its only single phase then it would have to be limited to 3600 watts in Europe since this is the maximum in most countries for a single-phase load.